Not sure if this is the right thread area but a few weeks ago I packed a backpack and jumped on the CX bike for a 3-day ride around the Brisbane catchment. Pretty much my first solo multi-day ride. I had a great time!

I don't have panniers/racks so it was my commuting backpack and 2 water bottles approach. I tried to keep things light (didn't even pack undies haha) so the bag wasn't too heavy on my back. Tried to keep it to a change of clothes, basic spares/tools, toiletries and food. Also the mandatory charging cables, chamois cream etc.

I stayed the first night in the Fernvale Motel (around $90/night) and the second night at the Harlin Motel ($55/night including breakfast!). I originally wanted to stay the second night in Kilcoy but it was booked out for the Labor Day long weekend. (FYI - Harlin has only 3 buildings in the 'town', whereas Kilcoy is much larger with plenty of shops). I don't stay in motels much but they were fine to me. Obviously going by the price the Harlin Motel is very basic, but the pub next door did a great value steak dinner. I only needed a shower and bed really.

The weekend weather was fine & sunny, but got pretty hot on the second day. At least i didn't need to worry about rain gear. The peculiar Spring weather meant i saw 5 degrees in the morning down in the valleys (glad i had thrown in arm-warmers) moving to 37 degrees in the daytime (glad i had packed sunscreen).

UPS:- Motels are easy. No need to worry about tents and sleeping gear. Showers feel amazing after a hard ride.- Plenty of towns on the way so ample opportunity for drink refills and food.- Plenty of houses too, and the people are friendly. I did stop at one for an emergency bottle refill and was rewarded with ice water and a banana.- Amazing scenery in that part of the world. Early morning is magic hour. Gregorys Creek Road was a standout for me...just serene and no cars.- Train home from Elimbah was easy, but they are about 1 hour apart. You can always have lunch at the Roadhouse while you wait.

DOWNS:- Once it gets hot, there is no shade. Wide open paddocks with not much wind can make it tough.- With a backpack and CX bike, its steady going. You wont set any speed records. 2 water bottles is a must.- A million magpies. And the bush ones don't give up easy, most following me for more than a kilometer! I actually wished for zipties on my helmet *shock horror*- Plan your route carefully and take a hardcopy map. I did get lost leaving Toogoolawah and my Garmin 800 was unhelpfully blank. It didn't show the level of dirt roads i was on at the time. In the end i only added 20kms to my route. Likely that heat stress was a contributor to my bad decisions.

Roads/traffic:- Pine Mountain Road was fine on a Friday. There's no real shoulder but the traffic was light.- The Brisbane Valley Highway has been resurfaced leading into Fernvale. Rough open chip, but it has a wide 1m shoulder.- Wivenhoe-Somerset Road is fine too. Lumpy, but you can hear any cars coming a long way off. If you are on there early AM, you will see alot of cars + boats heading out for fishing. Bright rear light is a must.- Definitely avoid the Brisbane Valley Highway from Esk northwards. The shoulder comes and goes and the traffic sped is very high. There are also roadworks in a few places at the moment. I only used it from Harlin to Gregorys Creek Road. Check for road closures: http://131940.qld.gov.au/- Twin View Road is part asphalt, part 4x4 track. MTN or CX bike only on that part (fun!), unless you want to walk for abit.

Great stuff Rob. It probably would be best posted in the Touring Australia subforum, where there are already a couple of threads about micro-adventures/micro-tours. I know that area well, and have been considering a loop through Kilcoy/Jimna/Manumbar/Elginvale and back to Kilcoy via the upper Brisbane River through Linville and Moore. There will be plenty of gravel, and it will require camping but should be a good shakeout for my bikepacking rig.

Yeah its a nice run through there. Even though it was still 40 stinking degrees when I left Kilcoy there was the cool breeze coming off it which was great before going into the valley heading to Mt Mee road. I'll have to get back out there sometime and check out the roads surrounding it. That single section of road where the river crosses would make a great spot for photos. It's just a shame that it's impossible to get a photo as there is nowhere to stop and when you do you can see a car coming in the distance... which more than likely turns off where the butchers are just before it haha.

You should have went via Delaney's Creek to Mt Mee Road/Woodford. Great section of road with next to no motor vehicles.There's a small dirt section but its in better condition than the Goat Track up Mt Nebo.

ldrcycles wrote:Try out this loop when you get a chance, i've done it on the pushie, moto and in the car now and can't get enough of the scenery north of Linville.

PW and I have got that one pencilled in for next Saturday, he hasn't done that loop yet so thought I'd revisit. Going to tack on a detour at the bottom of loop to take in Gregors Ck Rd to stay off the Dag Hwy. The only dodgy part about the ride is that it's 150km(Linville) before the first water/food. And we both know how that felt hey Lachlan!!

That looks like an excellent alternative to the highway. Remember the Elgin Vale hall has water, but there is now no hot food available at Linville, so swings and roundabouts . On the same theme, some of the roads are a bit better than last time, some are worse than i remember. The scenery is still tops though!

ldrcycles wrote:That looks like an excellent alternative to the highway. Remember the Elgin Vale hall has water, but there is now no hot food available at Linville, so swings and roundabouts . On the same theme, some of the roads are a bit better than last time, some are worse than i remember. The scenery is still tops though!

What does the shop at Linville have Lachlan? Sandwiches? Anything will do at that stage.

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